Planning commissioners hear rezoning request for Winter Sausage; applicant withdraws petition

At a May 1 Eastpointe City Planning Commission meeting, Winter Sausage asked the commission to rezone four parcels along Gratiot Avenue and Crescentwood from mixed-use districts (MU-3 and MU-1) to light industrial, a change planning staff recommended denying because it conflicts with the city’s adopted future land use map.

Planning staff member Chris Urbiel explained that three of the parcels are zoned MU-3 and the Crescentwood-fronting parcel is MU-1, while the master plan’s future land use map designates the site as regional mixed-use and part of a central business change area. “The request is to rezone all of them to light industrial, which would allow all of them to be used in the future for a range of industrial uses,” Urbiel said. He told commissioners the principal concern is the rezoning’s incompatibility with the master plan and the parcels’ proximity to residential uses.

The issue drew several public speakers. Lee Stevens, the architect for Winter Sausage, said the company has been on the site since 1950, employs about 50 people and wants to expand to accommodate larger machinery. “By having that property allowing us to build over there allows us to use more machinery and and have a better facility and a better product,” Stevens said. Resident Theresa Churchill said she lives on Crescentwood and asked how rezoning would affect nearby homes and parking on her street. Resident Jennifer Nicholas noted past actions: she said the parcel’s zoning was changed to MU-3 in November 2023 and that the city previously established an industrial development district and an industrial facilities tax exemption to support Winter Sausage’s expansion. She asked whether Winter Sausage’s existing class A nonconforming designation covers the newly purchased parcel.

Commissioners pressed staff and the applicant on alternatives to rezoning the entire block. Commissioners noted the city is preparing a new master plan, and several expressed concern that rezoning to light industrial could create a precedent other property owners might cite. Staff said the application requested rezoning of all four parcels and that the commission’s recommendation must consider that full request; staff also suggested a narrower alternative—studying expansion of the northern parcel only or modifying the existing class A nonconforming status—would be appropriate for further review.

Lee Stevens told the commission the company had purchased the parcel to the north without being sure it would be permitted for an expansion and that Winter Sausage would prefer a solution that allowed a one-story manufacturing addition on the north side rather than the two-story expansion previously discussed. After the discussion, Stevens said the applicant would withdraw the rezoning request. The chair and staff said the formal withdrawal must be processed during the meeting’s new business section.

The commission’s staff said it would study alternatives, including whether the class A nonconforming designation can be extended to the adjacent parcel or whether a targeted rezone of only the northern parcel might meet the company’s needs without rezoning the larger block.

The matter was discussed again under new business, and the commission voted to accept the petitioner’s request to rescind the rezoning application during the meeting’s voting sequence. No rezoning was adopted at the May 1 meeting.

Commissioners asked staff to return with options that address Winter Sausage’s operational needs while aligning with the master plan and the city’s upcoming master plan update.